Posts Tagged ‘Museum of Science and Industry’

We’re in the science museum and have taken a break from the flashing lights and hands-on exhibits to refuel. To hush Milo’s grizzling, and to give me a few seconds to select a sarnie, I hand Milo a Babybel.

He takes the fist-sized cheese as if it’s the most precious thing he’s ever seen. As predicted, he immediately stops fussing and concentrates his energies on exploring the red, shiny disc that he grips in his tiny hand.

‘Right, there’s the sandwich, water, oh and a Babybel as well,’ I say when I get to the till.

The woman nods, punches a few keys and then looks up to tell me the cost.

‘Is he supposed to be eating that?’ she asks.

‘It’s fine,’ I say. ‘You know what babies are like: everything in the mouth.’

‘But he’s eating the wrapper.’

I turn to look at my son and wrest the Babybel from his vice-like grip. The woman’s not wrong: in the few seconds he’s had it, Milo has managed to eat his way through the plastic wrapper, then the wax and finally taken great bites out of the pale cheese glistening below.

‘Do you think the wrapper’s bad for him?’ asks the woman.

How, I think, does that help? But I say nothing, just hand over a fiver. As for Milo, he gives a little red-toothed grin and I wonder, not for the first time, if any of my distant relatives hailed from the fires of hell.

Ratings. Babychanging facilities: Yes. Cafe: Yes. Buggy-friendly? Yes. Cost: Free (fees charged for special exhibitions). Worth it? Yes, as well as the changing exhibitions, there’s an interactive gallery and baby play area on the top floor. Good for rainy days.